Enterprise Cloud Security: A Comprehensive Business and Vendor Effort

Did you know that cloud computing is the fastest-growing technological innovation in the business world? Organizations across all different industries are in a tech race and continue to embed the cloud at the core of their operations. Several essential factors need to be leveraged correctly and taken into consideration when maximizing your ROI in the cloud. One is the concept of Cloud Security. As a business, you do not want all the remarkable benefits of the cloud undermined by a failure to maintain strong cloud security practices. As organizations transition from an inelastic on-premise estate to flexible cloud-enabled solutions, all cloud deployments must be integrated with existing security policies/architecture. The difficulty lies in the strategy it takes to get there, which is ultimately a team effort between vendor and enterprise.

Many may argue that “Cybersecurity” and “Cloud computing” are two topics that contradict. One requires you to store data off-site, trusting a vendor to keep your data/transactions safe and the other requires building a virtual security network around your data. The reality is that these two traditionally distant practices develop a synergistic relationship out of necessity for users. The product of this relationship is Cloud Security. Cloud-based applications must be shielded from attack, and data in the cloud must be protected against unauthorized access. With Cloud architecture being much different than architecture on-prem, organizations must look beyond traditional security tools and approaches to their protect data & transactions.

Some things for organizations to take into consideration about Security in the Cloud:

• Although vendors do their part by heavily investing in robust cloud security tools, ultimately, the organization is responsible for the security of its data. Organizations cannot let their guard down, as they hold full ownership of the costs associated with a potential attack, not the vendor. An organization’s # 1 priority should be to have its employees trained, leverage its vendors’ resources, and stay current on the latest threats like cyber
• Operational security in the cloud can be difficult, especially with a multi-cloud approach. Some common challenges to take proactive action on include; achieving & maintaining regulatory compliance, infrastructure security visibility (understanding the layers you are responsible for vs. your vendor), automating your security controls/enforcement, and having qualified security staff (even if this means outsourcing).

Understanding your role in security is paramount to ensuring your data will not be compromised. Your responsibility will depend on your cloud deployment model (public, private, multi-cloud, etc.). Engaging with Eclipsys can help you manage those areas that remain your responsibility.

Ultimately, IT organizations can stay on top of cloud security by staying informed, ensuring you or your staff are adequately trained, and continuing to operate with a healthy level of caution (compliance and auditing). These are the teams best positioned to optimize their investment in the cloud. Eclipsys Solutions has recently been designated as Canada's only Certified Oracle Cloud Solutions Provider. This recognizes our solutions architects as having the deployment experience and technical expertise to manage and secure Oracle and non-Oracle workloads in the cloud. Ask our experts about your team’s journey to the cloud.